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FORT WORTH, Texas - David
Johnson had a career-high 27 points, including nine rebounds and
four blocks, but it wasn't enough as 25th-ranked Texas Wesleyan
fell to 26th-ranked Oklahoma Christian, 94-82, Tuesday evening at
the Sid Richardson Gymnasium.
Oklahoma Christian (2-0) shot 94 percent
(23-24) from the charity stripe, making 17 of them in the second
half. Four Eagle players scored in double figures, including Jarred
Merrill's 30 points.
Also, for Texas Wesleyan (0-1) senior Wesley
Haynes had double-double off the bench with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior Joey Gladney chipped in 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from
the field.
"We had our problems early with our
transitions and getting matched up," head coach Terry Waldrop
said. "Merrill is an outstanding player and really gave us
problems, especially in the first half."
The Eagles ran out to a 26-12 lead at the
10:55 mark, as Merrill connected on four buckets and four free throws
for a quick 12 points. OC would extend the lead to 16 on a jumper
by Sam Word with 3:59 left in the first half, giving the Eagles
a 37-21 lead.
The Rams would close the gap, outscoring
OC 12-5 down the stretch in the first half. Sophomore Brad Schilder's
three-point bomb at the buzzer cut the Eagle lead to 42-33 at the
half.
"I thought our run at the end of the
first half put us in pretty good position, considering our performance
the first 15 minutes," Waldrop said. "We made some adjustments
at halftime and they seemed to be effective. We just couldn't seem
to get all the way over the hump."
In the second half, the Rams cut the Eagle
lead to 51-47 with 14:23 left in the game on the strength of eight
points from Johnson, with two of them coming from a steal and emphatic
dunk. Haynes also chipped in four points during the 14-9 run.
Two quick treys by the Eagles' Merrill
and Sam Word pushed the OC lead back to 10 at 57-47 with 12:40 left
in the game.
Texas Wesleyan was able to cut the lead
to five at 60-55 with 10:40 left in the game, but that is as close
as they would come. Oklahoma Christian made 16-of-17 free throws
down the stretch to pick up its second consecutive victory to open
its season.
The Rams shot 48.3 percent (28-58) from
the floor but free throw shooting proved to be the difference as
they only shot 58.8 percent (20-34) from the charity stripe. Oklahoma
Christian outrebounded the Rams, 39-38.
"We felt pretty good at the 10 minute
mark, but losing Anthony Martin was certainly a blow, as the momentum
had swung and we were playing considerably better," Waldrop
said. "We are a very young team that makes some young mistakes.
It is hard to do that and still be in position to win against a
veteran and talented squad like OC. We certainly had our chances
but just didn't get it done down the stretch. Hopefully, we can
learn from this and improve as we play Dillard on Saturday night."
The Rams will be back in action Saturday,
when they host Dillard at 7:30 p.m. at the Sid Richardson Gymnasium.
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